Top 6 Podcasts for Learning Marathi on the Go
Online Marathi lessons from a qualified native speaker can be one of the best ways to learn the language. In addition, there are a number of other paid as well as free online resources to learn Marathi, for anyone looking to learn the language. Whether one is a school student or someone who wants to learn the language because they are relocating to Maharashtra one can benefit from checking out some of the top YouTube channels to learn Marathi. People that have a new job or are looking to do business in the state can also make use of these language learning resources.
We may not think of them as such, but podcasts are another great way to improve language skills. Simply listening to a language being spoken can help the learner pick up conversational speech, colloquial usages and can also help to expand the vocabulary. In the past decade or so, podcasts have become a convenient way to multitask and have revolutionised how we consume information, news, humour, entertainment and even fiction. They are in our ear as we go about our daily walk or workout, on our daily commute or as we perform various mundane chores around the home. We look at some of the podcasts to help learn Marathi on the go.
Shivanshi Srivastava
The national news from Akashwani (आकाशवाणी मराठी बातम्या )
This podcast consists of all the headline making news of the day. Episodes are about 10 minutes in duration on average. There are several of these short episodes published each day. This is the news narrated in the old-fashioned Aakashwani radio way – none of the drama and hysteria of TV news here. The language is precise and formal and the enunciation is very clear. Listeners will not only get to know about the headlines of the day, but also get an idea of the Marathi equivalents of a lot of other commonly used words and phrases from other Indian languages.
Sakal Chya Batmya 'सकाळ' च्या बातम्या
This is another news podcast in Marathi but a little less formal and more conversational than the one above. It is a podcast brought to listeners from the Sakal newspaper, one of Maharashtra’s most popular dailies. The podcast consists of three of the day’s main stories from the world of politics, tech, entertainment, travel, lifestyle, health and so on. Consisting of 8 to 10 minutes, each episode informs the listener. Listening regularly will familiarise the Marathi learner with the language, phrases, constructions etc.
Learn Marathi quickly with Shraddha Pethkar
Here the listener can go about their daily tasks while listening to a pleasant voice teaching them know to speak Marathi. These are varying lengths of short and longer podcasts episodes where the podcaster speaks in English to teach the basics of Marathi. Episodes include ways to greet others in Marathi, ways to use the female and male pronouns in Marathi, how to speak about daily routines, the tenses, narrations about inspirational people and more. The podcast even tells the listener how to express love on Valentine’s Day!
Sports कट्टा
For listeners who are fond of following cricket and other sports, this Marathi sports podcast is a great option. It goes without saying that they speak about cricket on the podcast – after all cricket is a religion in India. Updates of cricket series currently being played, analyses of wins and losses, selection issues and player injury as well as problems with the BCCI are some of the issues discussed. The podcasters also interview well known Marathi sportspersons, speak about issues such as the need for sports psychologists in various athletic events, why commentary in Marathi is a must and more. Listeners can listen to the Mumbai marathon man, find out more about Indian sports such as kabaddi and generally get their sports news fix.
Swati Banerjee
Shabdaphule शब्दफुले By Sujata
This is a storytelling podcast in Marathi. It is one way for the Marathi learner to discover more about Marathi literature, stories, articles and even Marathi poetry; those “magical moments”. Admittedly this may not be ideal for someone who is still learning the rudiments of the Marathi language. The podcast uses more advanced language and lesser-used words that may be difficult for students to comprehend. However, it could be enjoyable for the lyrical quality and evocative nature of the words spoken. Plus, the listener can glean a lot from the context as they continue to listen.
Pankhya Vines – a Marathi humour podcast
Pankhya and Mangya are a couple of guys discussing a bunch of different issues on this podcast in comic high pitched voices in his humorous Marathi podcast. There is some cheeky language and ribaldry here, so this may not be the bet if one is easily offended. They discuss everything from recent headlines to viral celeb news to not being able to figure out what gift to get for the Rakhi festival. They also have quite a bit to say about the ‘jugaadu’ Indian mom.
The above list consists of just a few suggestions based on Marathi podcasts with good ratings on Spotify. It is a good idea to browse various different Marathi podcasts for topics and genres based on each individual’s own interests and level of language proficiency.
Further, a little pointer for those of us who are regular podcast listeners that typically listen to podcasts at 1.25x or 1.5x speeds or even higher: this may not be a good idea when you're trying to master a new language. The higher speeds may distort pronunciation and make it difficult to understand what is being said. Instead, it is advisable to listen at normal speeds or even slightly slower than normal speed. This helps identify individual words, improves enunciation and enables the listener to better comprehend what is being said.
Apart from these popular Marathi podcasts, there are many other resources that Marathi learners can benefit from, such as the language learning platform Amarkosh. Having a Marathi dictionary open for ready reference can also be a handy tool for the Marathi learner.
